Actors, TV hosts, performers or users alike, want their voice to be recorded or amplified in high sound quality while seeking a microphone which is as invisible as possible to not take away the focus of the viewer.
In order to attain and maintain a high quality sound recording, the microphone needs to maintain a very precise location in respect to the mouth of the user, and preferably the microphone should be a directional microphone directed towards the mouth of the user.
A lavalier microphone is a small microphone that is mounted to the user, e.g. to a shirt, in order to allow hands-free operation. A lavalier microphone is most commonly provided with a small clip for attaching the microphone to collars, ties, or other clothing. The cord may be hidden by clothes and run to an auxiliary device such as a radio frequency transmitter kept in a pocket or clipped to a belt, or routed directly to a mixer or a recording device.
However, several problems arise in known assemblies of lavalier microphones. First of all, the clip may be bulky, lack precise attachment, or may damage the clothes to which it attaches. Secondly, at least part of the conducting cable extending from the microphone is not properly hidden. Further, the microphone, cable and clip assembly may be subject to noise e.g. from the cable scratching against the clothes near the microphone, or the clothes scratching directly on the microphone.
Additionally, the microphone assembly should provide for use of a directional microphone sensitive to sounds from substantially only one direction, thereby reducing undesired capture of sounds from unintentional sources. Traditional microphone assemblies of the lavalier kind are limited to a fixed position of the microphone.
Applications have been proposed wherein a microphone cable is concealed within a clamp, such as the clip-on microphone of DE 10 2008 005 109 A1 having a microphone cable running within an arm of a holding clip and/or a clamp on a rear side and behind a piece of clothing of a person. However, the clip-on microphone disclosed in DE 10 2008 005 109 performs poorly if a directional microphone is preferred.